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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Original poster

My baby is due next month, I cannot get organised, my house is a tip. I have no system!!

16 replies

TotorosOcarina · 04/04/2011 21:07

FGS I cannot go on like this.

My house is not dirty. Its actually a rather nice house for round here Grin

But its chaos.

I have 3 kids under 6, no storage space, no system for anything and I cannot get into a cleaning routine.

I don't even know where to start.

I feel really overwhelmed.

We have bags of clothes everywhere.

They are the main problem really, the clothes.

I'm at the point now where I want to choose 3 or 4 outfits for each child and burn everything else!! (which obviously I wont)

I just am getting really down about it.

My mums house was the same and I hated it, I need to get organised now as its just going to get worse when baby arrives.

Help me :(

OP posts:
Plumm · 04/04/2011 21:09

Get rid of the clothes! Seriously, kids don't need that many clothes (as long as you're willing to do lots of washing).

Original poster
TotorosOcarina · 04/04/2011 21:11

I know plum but then i can't throw any of DS1s stuff away as it will fit DS2 soon and now all DS2's stuff will do for baby when he is older.

I need to sort and pack away don't i??

OP posts:
thisisyesterday · 04/04/2011 21:13

storage is your answer. my house was/is similar (it's getting better) and i realised the problem was that i had too much stuff that just didn't have homes

so you need to go through and sort clothes out. anything that's being kept for hand-me-downs can go in the attic, or in boxes under beds (my children each have a big box under their bed full of their "next" size up)

be ruthless and either ebay or charity shop as much as you can

go to ikea/argos/look on freecycle for storage units so that you can just put as much stuff away as you can

get a friend to help you if it's too much.

Original poster
TotorosOcarina · 04/04/2011 21:25

thanks yesterday.

it seems like were constantly clearing out but nothing goes Hmm

i need washing baskets i think!

OP posts:
thisisyesterday · 04/04/2011 21:48

i've decided i need a kind of laundry station. dp won't let me add a utility room onto the back of the house, so it needs to be inside. but it just needs to be some shelves or something with baskets on. one lot for clean washing, one lot for stuff thjat's folded and ready to go away and a laundry basket or 2 underneath for stuff waiting to be washed.

Plumm · 04/04/2011 23:31

Have you tried the vaccum bag things? I've just packed away our winter coats in one and it's fab (got mine from Lakeland)

OmicronPersei8 · 04/04/2011 23:40

One laundry system I've always wanted to do (not enough space/haven't got round to it yet) is where you get something like the Ikea antonius drawers, and have one type of laundry in each - eg whites, colours etc. Clothes are sorted straight away, then you just take the drawer out when full and put the whole load straight into the washing machine.

Also I'd recommend the roll-up vacuum bags, they are easy to use, no need to get the hoover out. I had a massive sort out of clothes (only 2 DC though) and it made such a huge difference. They really don't need that many clothes. Take everything out, then imagine you are packing for a holiday. Get rid of all the stuff you don't 'pack'.

bessie26 · 05/04/2011 09:30

Vacuum bags are great. I have all DDs clothes in numbered bags! Can your DC to help sort their clothes out?

Fly lady has really helped me declutter & get a "system" (DC2 due in 2 weeks). Choose a SMALL area, set your timer for 15min & sort it out. When the timer goes off, stop! It doesn't sound like much, but it is amazing what you can do in 15mins if you focus! - there are several threads on here about it, I'm on this one

Fizzylemonade · 06/04/2011 08:21

I second the vacuum bags bit, also pre-sort laundry, I am lucky enough to have plastic tubs and the laundry gets sorted as it is taken off, so blacks, whites, lights, darks. I do have a washing system that I stick to but then I am a sahm with 2 boys in school as of September.

When washing comes out of the tumble drier as I take it out I put the ironing stuff into one basket and the rest goes into one of those huge blue Ikea bags. I take the Ikea bag upstairs and sort it out on my bed, anything for my room goes straight into the drawers, the boy stuff gets put into piles and I take it into their rooms and put it away.

I watch tv whilst I iron.

Start with one bit at a time. My house was absolute chaos 3 years ago, I didn't even have people round because it was so bad and then I came on here and discovered Flylady.

I honestly didn't believe it would work for me but it did. Before that I would walk into a room and turn in all directions wondering where the hell to start, in the end I would give up and leave the room Grin

The 15 min thing is great, it's short enough that you aren't at it for hours and it's long enough to achieve something.

Rope in some help with the children so you can get on and sort.

acumenin · 06/04/2011 12:24

You need storage. This shop is admittedly mental but v cheap and good quality: www.themerchantchandler.co.uk/product/baskets/BB40200.html.

Put all your problems in drawers! Wink

IShallWearMidnight · 06/04/2011 12:28

Omicron - I made my own laundry sorters with cheap kitchen cupboards on their sides (so the doors open from the top, fastened inside with chains to limit how far they open), and four Ikea laundry bags for dark, brights, lights and whites. One bagful is a load and it's out of the way on the top landing.

IShallWearMidnight · 06/04/2011 12:30

Second third fourth Flylady - cut out the cheesy stuff and the "buy this product" bits and it's pretty good (do like the testimonials though Blush).

systemsaddict · 06/04/2011 12:34

I bought extra plastic laundry baskets. A lot of them - have 6 now for a house of 4 people. Which means I can fold clothes off the drier into separate baskets for separate people. Which means putting them away is less of a treasure hunt process and I can actually face it (most of the time), and even if I don't, they can at least make it into the right room. Which means we need fewer clothes ('cos fewer are lost in the laundry system at any one time) so less chaos, less storage space needed. And I find that getting on top of the clothes is one of the three major keys to getting on top of the house, for us.

The other two are having a washing up system (dishwasher filled every night, emptied every morning), and accepting that picking up and putting away are just going to be constant tasks that we will never get on top of but must do continuously to keep the chaos at bay.

Oh and I don't iron!

ellangirl · 06/04/2011 20:19

I use a good tip I heard once. Keep a box in the wardrobe/under the bed for each DC. When you wash an item of clothing, if it is too small, put it in the box instead of putting in away. When the box is full label it and store it away. Attics come in very useful if you have one, as long as box is airtight (or use vacuum bags- buy from ebay they're pretty good). I have this which is great. I keep it on the landing. Hoping to teach DS as he gets older to put things straight in the right basket. DH just about manages it :o

MooM00 · 07/04/2011 10:40

You don't need to separate white from coloureds, just use colourcatchers. I reuse them if they're still whitish.I do one wash a day, all together, when it's dry it goes on our bed to be sorted which means I can't go to bed until it's put away.

systemsaddict · 07/04/2011 11:56

WOW. Those colour catchers look BRILLIANT - I am definitely going to try them!! I have never dared mix coloureds and whites but am really not too concerned with brilliant white whites, just as long as school shirts don't go pink I'm happy. Imagine - I could have an empty dirty clothes basket every time I do a wash!

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